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A section of Hotel Bougainvillea's beautiful tropical and landscaped gardens has been set aside to showcase some of the most well known crops that have not only sustained Costa Ricans for years but brought great wealth and prosperity to this small Central American country. Several of these crops literally have put this tiny, peaceful Central American country on the map by pointing out its agricultural roots.
Coffee Coffea Arabica
An African native bush brought in the 19th century to Costa Rica, it has been the principal supporter of Costa Rica's economy. Costa Rica is famous for its coffee worldwide, mainly cultivated in the Central Valley area and surrounding mountains. In the hills surrounding Hotel Bougainvillea in Santo Domingo de Heredia, coffee reigns king, and many small farms and coffee growing families still carry out coffee production honoring methods and traditions of the past.
Cocoa or Chocolate tree Theobroma cacao
Native of tropical America, Chocolate is obtained from its seeds. Cocoa was a very important crop in Costa Rica during the Pre-Columbian and Colonial era. Most of the fields were planted in the Atlantic zone. Nowadays most of them are abandoned.
Banana Musa spp.
The symbols of tropical fruits, bananas are one of Costa Rica’s mayor exporting products. The biggest plantations located in the Atlantic zone of the country have replaced the cocoa cultivated areas. Banana cultivation began in Costa Rica in 1878, being the first Central American country to plant bananas. Once the Atlantic Railroad was finished in 1890, banana exportation attracted foreign investment, increasing and surpassing coffee production economically. By 1911 Costa Rica had become the world's largest producer of bananas.
Pineapple Ananas comosus
A native of tropical America, this fruit belongs to the bromeliad family. It is also one of Costa Rica's main exporting crops. Pineapple plantations are found all around the country.
Bougainvilleas
Native from the South Pacific Islands, Bougainvilleas are woody, thorny, evergreen vines from tropical and subtropical weather. They are popular for their large, colorful blooms, and are produced most profusely in the dry season. Bougainvillea’s colorful “flowers” are really bracts (modified leaves). The bracts are located below the rather small true flowers. They are named after Louis de Bougainville, a French navigator who first brought them to Europe.
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